The 2016–17 Iraq FA Cup was the 28th edition of the Iraqi knockout football cup as a club competition, the main domestic cup in Iraqi football. A total of 19 teams from the Iraqi Premier League and 41 teams from the Iraqi First Division League participated. It started on 2 December 2016 and the final was played at Al-Sinaa Stadium in Baghdad on 22 August 2017 (the usual venue, Al-Shaab Stadium, was closed for renovation). It was the second Iraq FA Cup final to be held outside Al-Shaab Stadium, with the first being in 2003.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Iraq |
| Dates | 2 December 2016 – 22 August 2017 |
| Teams | 60 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Al-Zawraa (15th title) |
| Runner-up | Naft Al-Wasat |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Mustafa Karim (5 goals) |
The winners of the competition were Al-Zawraa, who extended their record number of cup wins to 15 with a 1–0 victory over Naft Al-Wasat in the final thanks to a stoppage time goal by Alaa Abdul-Zahra.[1]
Format
editParticipation
editThe cup started with the first round, consisting of the 41 teams from the Iraqi First Division League, 40 of which played against each other and 1 of which automatically proceeded to the next round. The second round consisted of the 21 qualified teams from the first round, 18 of which played against each other and 3 of which automatically proceeded to the Round of 32. The 20 Iraqi Premier League clubs were to join the 12 qualified teams from the second round to form the Round of 32, but Erbil withdrew from the tournament and therefore First Division League side Al-Jinsiya were admitted into the Round of 32 to replace them despite already being knocked out.
The last cup competition saw almost half of the Premier League clubs withdraw from the tournament. To avoid this happening again, the Iraq FA announced that any Premier League team that withdrew would be fined and also deducted three points in the league. However, the Premier League had already finished by the time the Round of 16 came around, so teams who withdrew from that stage onwards faced no sanctions.
Cards
editIf a player received a second yellow card, they would be banned from the next cup match. If a player received a red card, they would be banned a minimum of one match, but more could be added by the Iraq Football Association.
No extra-time
editThe Iraq Football Association decided that from the Round of 16 onwards, there would not be an extra time period for matches that end in a draw; instead the game would go straight to a penalty shootout.
Participating clubs
editThe following 60 teams participated in the competition:
- Bold indicates the team is still in the competition.
Schedule
editThe rounds of the 2016–17 competition were scheduled as follows:
| Round | Draw date and time | Matches dates |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 8 November 2016 | 2–5 December 2016 |
| Second round | 9–11 December 2016 | |
| Round of 32 | 7 March 2017 | 26–31 March 2017 |
| Round of 16 | 14 August 2017 | |
| Quarter-finals | 17 August 2017 | |
| Semi-finals | 20 August 2017 | |
| Final | 22 August 2017 |
First round
edit40 teams from the Iraqi First Division League compete in this round, and 1 First Division League team (Badr Al-Iraq) is automatically placed into the second round.
| 2 December 2016 | Al-Jamahir | 0–3 | Al-Siyaha | |
 60' Adil 73' Fawzi 79' Adnan |
| 2 December 2016 | Al-Difaa Al-Madani | 0–2 | Al-Kadhimiya | |
| 25', 49' Abdul-Kadhim |
| 2 December 2016 | Abu Ghraib | 0–1 | Al-Khutoot | |
| 78' Saad |
| 2 December 2016 | Al-Tarmiya | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p) | Al-Alam |
| 2 December 2016 | Shabab Al-Adil | 2–0 | Shabab Al-Meshahda | |
| Abdul-Zahra 9' Shakir 13' |
| 2 December 2016 | Al-Saha | 4–3 | Shabab Al-Dawr | |
| Ibrahim Obeida |
| 2 December 2016 | Samarra | 7–1 | Jisr Diyala | |
| Salah 6', 7' Alaa 64', 67' Tamateh 70' Ghalib 75' Ayoub 81' |
Salah |
| 2 December 2016 | Al-Maslaha | 1–0 | Al-Rusafa | |
| Khalaf |
| 2 December 2016 | Al-Etisalat | 1–2 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | |
| Salman 37' (pen.) |
16', 74' Tamuh   Hussain |
| 2 December 2016 | Peshmerga Sulaymaniya | 1–0 | Al-Jinsiya | |
| Note: Despite losing the game, Al-Jinsiya were admitted into the round of 32 to replace the withdrawing Erbil. | ||||
| 2 December 2016 | Salahaddin | 2–1 | Al-Mohandessin | |
| Younis 1' Mahmoud 52' (pen.) |
Khudhair 47' |
| 2 December 2016 | Ghaz Al-Shamal | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (8–7 p) | Al-Kufa |
Second round
edit18 of the 21 qualified teams from the previous round compete in this round, while 4 teams (Al-Siyaha, Al-Kadhimiya, Al-Maslaha and Al-Jinsiya) are automatically placed into the Round of 32. Although Al-Jinsiya were knocked out in the first round, they were chosen to replace Erbil who withdrew from the tournament.
| 9 December 2016 | Al-Khutoot | 0–1 | Al-Jaish |
| 9 December 2016 | Al-Tarmiya | 1–0 | Shabab Al-Adil |
| 9 December 2016 | Al-Hurr | 3–0 (w/o) | Peshmerga Sulaymaniya |
| 9 December 2016 | Al-Atheer | 3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | Badr Al-Iraq |
| 10 December 2016 | Haifa | 0–4 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | |
| 51', 68' Jassim 86' Muegel 90' Jasem |
| 11 December 2016 | Salahaddin | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (9–10 p) | Ghaz Al-Shamal |
Final phase
editBracket
editRound of 32
edit| 26 March 2017 | Al-Hussein | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | Al-Hurr |
| 26 March 2017 | Naft Al-Wasat | 1–0 | Ghaz Al-Shamal |
| 26 March 2017 | Al-Jinsiya | 0–1 | Al-Najda |
| 26 March 2017 | Al-Talaba | 2–0 | Al-Kadhimiya |
| 27 March 2017 | Naft Maysan | 5–1 | Al-Siyaha |
| 27 March 2017 | Amanat Baghdad | 5–0 | Badr Al-Iraq |
| 27 March 2017 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 2–0 | Al-Tarmiya |
| 28 March 2017 | Al-Zawraa | 4–3 | Al-Maslaha | |
| Karim 20', 31' Ali 45' H. Abdul-Amir 74' |
25' Thajel 45' Al-Abdeen 90' Tah |
Referee: Muntaser Ghazi |
| 28 March 2017 | Al-Kahrabaa | 2–1 | Samarra |
| 30 March 2017 | Al-Minaa | 4–1 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya |
| 31 March 2017 | Naft Al-Junoob | 4–0 | Al-Karkh |
Round of 16
edit| 14 August 2017 | Naft Al-Wasat | 3–0 (w/o) | Karbala |
| 14 August 2017 | Al-Zawraa | 1–0 | Naft Al-Junoob | |
| H. Abdul-Amir 73' |
| 14 August 2017 | Naft Maysan | 3–0 (w/o) | Al-Sinaa |
| 14 August 2017 | Amanat Baghdad | 3–0 (w/o) | Al-Najaf |
| 14 August 2017 | Al-Kahrabaa | 0–2 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | |
| 33' Jaffal 52' Radhi |
Quarter-finals
edit| 17 August 2017 | Naft Al-Wasat | 3–0 (w/o) | Al-Talaba |
| 17 August 2017 | Al-Zawraa | 2–0 | Naft Maysan | |
| Karim 5' Kalaf 76' |
| 17 August 2017 | Amanat Baghdad | 1–0 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | |
| A. Abdul-Amir 11' (pen.) Muhammad  44' |
Semi-finals
edit| 20 August 2017 | Al-Minaa | 1–1 (3–4 p) | Naft Al-Wasat | Najaf |
| Husni 68' |
50' Attwan |
Stadium: Naft Al-Wasat Stadium |
| 20 August 2017 | Al-Zawraa | 3–1 | Amanat Baghdad | Baghdad |
| Karim 6', 29' H. Abdul-Amir 35' |
20' (pen.) A. Abdul-Amir |
Stadium: Amanat Baghdad Stadium |
Final
edit| 22 August 2017 | Naft Al-Wasat | 0–1 | Al-Zawraa | Baghdad |
| 16:30 BGD | 90+5' Abdul-Zahra |
Stadium: Al-Sinaa Stadium |
| Iraq FA Cup 2016–17 winner |
|---|
| Al-Zawraa 15th title |